Ibis Birmingham New Street, Earl Haig

My room here was very basic but perfect for my needs as a solo traveller. The only issue I found was that the carpet felt a bit dirty, tired and worn. Other than that, everything was pretty much as you would expect from Ibis Budget Hotels which is why I like to stay in them when abroad. You just know what you will be getting and you don't really ever have any issues. I was due on a train early the next morning so wasn't able to enjoy a lay in but the bed was comfortable and the shower fantastic! At check in, there was a bit of confusion as I had booked about half an hour before arrival so the booking hadn't yet dropped into the system which caused a bit of confusion for the girl helping me but she got there in the end. One thing I really enjoyed was seeing a security guard on the door when I came back late at night. He was checking Id cards and room keys so stopping anyone random trying to get in along with ppl who try and sneak extra people through. A nice touch if you ask me. The hotel is located right next to China Town so yummy food options are available everywhere.

Bad experience. We stayed 2 nights in February 2025. Regarding the hotel: location is fine. It’s in Chinatown and there’s a lot of asian restaurants and supermarkets in walking distance. It’s not a big city, so the hotel is walking distance from practically everywhere. Regarding the room: no wall sockets near the bed for charging our phones except for UK wall sockets. The room is very hot and it’s terrible to sleep in a hot room with heavy and dry air. The AC may be off, but the only way to sleep is by opening all the windows (and hear the street noise). Regarding breakfast: it was awful 🤢 I took a picture of the scrambled eggs, which were green. The bread was dry and seemed to be from 2 weeks ago. There were croissants and pain au chocolat, but they weren’t good either, just a better option. We complained but the employers have no fault, they just know it’s a bad breakfast but have to comply with hotel rules and say that the bread is fresh and the eggs were made 5 min ago 🙃 Suggestion: don’t pay for the breakfast! Instead, go to Grand Central Kitchen (6min walking) and enjoy a delicious breakfast in a cool atmosphere for a very fair price.